Insights into the growth of German ecommerce featuring payment methods, target audiences, marketing, social media, economy and logistics
Economy
Germany is home to 83.1 million people with a total GDP of US$3.86 trillion. GDP per capita is currently US$44,575 and expected to reach US$52,673 by 2024. As of 2019, Germany is ranked as the 26th richest country by the World Bank GDP per capita rankings.
See insights into other exciting European markets like Spain, Belgium, and France.
Digital User Insights
There are currently 62.4 million e-commerce users in Germany, expected to reach 68.4 million by 2025. This represents approximately 75% of the total population. The average user spends US$1,404 online, which will grow to US$1710 by 2025.
In 2020, female shoppers outnumber male online shoppers by less than 1%. Women between the ages of 45-54 account for the biggest market share, representing 7.9 million shoppers. The second biggest category of online shoppers is women aged between 35-44, accounting for 6.8 million shoppers.
In 2021, the ratio of male to female shoppers is expected to remain the same, with women between the ages of 35-54 accounting for 15.3 million shoppers.
Product Categories
Total ecommerce revenue across all product categories is US$87 billion, expected to reach US$117 billion by 2025. Electronics and Media is currently the leading product category, accounting for US$22.9 billion market share. Fashion accounts for US$22.4 billion.
By 2025, Electronics and Media will continue to lead the charge, valued at US$29.4 billion. Fashion will also grow, reaching US$29 billion.
Logistics
In 2018, Germany was ranked 1st in the World Bank Logistics ranking, making it the easiest country to deliver to in the world. As of 2019, 77.38% of Germany’s population reside in urban areas, and international retailers can rest assured that the infrastructure and logistics are in place to deliver to rural areas.
Preferred Online Payments
In Germany, paying with Invoice is still the most popular method of online payment at 27.9% (as of 2018, latest data), PayPal is next at 20.5%, with debit card (19.7%) and then credit card (10.7%) the most commonly-used payment methods for online purchases.
Where does Germany buy from?
Germany imports mostly from Netherlands (US$111 billion), China (US$96.9 billion), France (US$78.5 billion), Belgium-Luxembourg(US$77.4 billion), and Poland (US$70.7 billion).
Internet and Device Usage
Internet penetration in Germany is currently at 86.7%, and should reach 88.6% by 2024. Smartphone penetration is 83.5% and is projected to grow to 88.7% by 2025.
Shopping on smartphone has outperformed all other methods at 55%, with laptop at 51%, desktop at 36% and tablet at 6%. This is quite different from 2015 when 91% of online shoppers in Germany shop online via desktop. 5% of shoppers make purchases via tablet, and just 3% made their most recent purchase via smartphone.
Marketing
Total traditional marketing spend in Germany has plateaued in recent years, as advertisers begin to steadily invest more in digital. Digital has grown to reach US$6 billion as of 2020. Television accounts for the next-highest market spend at US$4.6 billion, with Newspaper accounting for US3.4 billion and Magazines accounting for US$1.7 billion USD market spend.
Social Media
Germany’s Social Media Penetration is 53% of the population, with this expected to reach 54.3% by 2025. Popular networks include instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp, social networks like Facebook, and media sharing networks like Instagram.
For more market insights, check out the ESW series of blogs covering a range of emerging ecommerce markets.
*Insights derived from ESW data, Statista, WorldBank, OECD and other industry sources.
